San Carlos mayor resigns

"It’s a lot of things. It’s alcohol, it’s my marriage, it’s stress. I haven’t been taking the time to appropriately deal with everything and I can’t keep bulldozing ahead. At some point, people hit their breaking point,” Klein said.

In his resignation letter, Klein, 30, said remaining a public servant during this time is no longer feasible.

"While juggling my personal and public life I have not afforded myself the time and care to appropriately cope with this loss. I have made decisions in my personal life that have become detrimental to my health and others. I have begun treatment to address my situation and ask everyone to allow me the time and privacy to do so,” Klein wrote.

Klein’s resignation is effective immediately. Vice Mayor Matt Grocott will serve as acting mayor until the City Council makes a new mayoral appointment. The City Council will also decide whether to appoint a new member to the empty seat to finish out Klein’s term, which ends next year, or leave the position empty until the November election. Grocott said he anticipates having that discussion in two weeks.

Klein was elected in November 2009 in an uncontested race and named vice mayor in 2011. That May, Klein became acting mayor after Ahmad died May 10 of a heart attack. The next weeks were rocky as two days after Ahmad’s death, Klein was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated hours after a memorial service for Ahmad. Klein blew a .08 on a breathalyzer but a blood test would later pinpoint his blood alcohol level at .07, leading to the District Attorney’s Office to not file charges. Klein briefly withdrew his mayoral bid after his arrest but reconsidered after the case was dropped. He was unanimously voted in permanently. At the next rotation, Klein was again named mayor and he’s held the position until yesterday’s surprise announcement.

Klein said he is "thankful” for the time he served and called it "one of the greatest honors of my life.”

During his tenure, the City Council wrestled with some high-profile decisions including the outsourcing of several city services, including police and fire. Both public safety changes drew strong debate, particularly the disbanding of the Belmont-San Carlos Fire Department and subsequent creation of a hybrid department with the city of Redwood City.

Klein was a vocal critic of the Planning Commission’s approval of a conditional use permit for an outdoor addition to downtown nightclub Carlos Club and was part of the 3-2 vote just last week reversing its decision.

Klein also launched a citywide volunteer day as his mayoral pet project which is being held Saturday, April 28.

Prior to being elected to the City Council, Klein was elected chair of the General Plan Advisory Committee. The GPAC was an advisory committee selected by the City Council that met several times each month over a year and a half to develop the San Carlos 2030 General Plan Update. Klein was also an active member of the San Carlos Youth Advisory Council during his time attending middle school in San Carlos.

The city’s last council resignation occurred in March 2001 when then-mayor David Buckmaster stepped down for a move to a new job and residence in El Dorado Hills. The seat was filled on an interim basis until the next election with Inge Tiegel Doherty was elected to finish the term’s balance and was re-elected.

Aside from Ahmad’s passing, the council also had one other mid-term death in 1988 when councilman Bill Lindeburg succumbed to a long bout with leukemia.

The choice between an interim appointment and holding off for the election will be based in part on the risk of potentially deadlocked votes by a four-member council on upcoming big issues like Wheeler Plaza and the Transit Village, Grocott said.

Michelle Durand can be reached by email: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.